Great Southern Bank report finds home ownership is key to happiness for Aussies
2 November 2023
A new report commissioned by customer-owned Great Southern Bank has found that 70% of people agree that owning a home is important to their overall happiness.
The Great Southern Bank No Place Like Home research report found homeowners are significantly happier with their current housing situation than renters. Sentiment continued to improve as people moved through the home ownership journey towards paying off their loan and achieving financial freedom.
Current living situation | % who are happy/ completely happy |
|---|---|
Own their home outright | 57% |
Homeowners (All) | 49% |
Mortgage-holders | 45% |
Renters (All) | 34% |
Long term renters (10+ years renting) | 29% |
Similarly, the research found sentiment around the different features of our home – from location to space - improves with age, as Australians move through different types of housing at various life stages:
Satisfaction with… | Gen Z (born 1995-2009) | Millennial (born 1980-1994) | Gen X (born 1965-79) | Baby Boomers (born 1946-1964) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Location | 48% | 58% | 61% | 72% |
Housing condition | 51% | 53% | 54% | 68% |
Stability | 46% | 49% | 55% | 66% |
Internal look and feel | 48% | 48% | 51% | 62% |
Size of home (internal space) | 40% | 42% | 48% | 65% |
Megan Keleher, Chief Customer Officer at Great Southern Bank, said: “This first phase of our Great Southern Bank No Place Like Home report provides valuable insights on how home ownership ultimately leads to increased happiness over time.
“Home ownership is a journey and we acknowledge that it can be difficult. These results show it is worth the trade-offs people make along the way. Gen Z and millennials tell us that saving a deposit is the key barrier to taking that first step towards buying a home. It’s clear however that Australian homeowners do become happier over time, as they build the equity in their home.”
Happiness is at its highest for mortgage-free homeowners and Baby Boomers, with 57% in each group saying they are happy with their current housing situation, compared to just 29% of long-term renters.
Renters are feeling more financially burdened, but not all hope is lost
The report found that 51% of renters are feeling heavily burdened by their financial commitments – significantly higher than 36% of homeowners. Long-term renters are also more concerned about the cost of living (84%) and housing affordability (80%) compared to those who have purchased their own home (73% and 62%).
Despite financial concerns, 29% of renters and 18% of long-term renters remain confident they can achieve their home ownership goals, with one in two renters (53%) hopeful of buying a home to live in within the next three years.
“Every individual’s homeownership journey and personal experience is different, but the report highlights that owning your own home does bring increased happiness for the vast majority of Australians,” Ms Keleher said.
“Whilst the journey to get there comes with challenges, there are simple steps that aspiring buyers can take to help them get onto the property ladder.
“For those buyers who are finding it difficult to save a deposit, there is support available from several government initiatives. For instance, the Federal Government Home Guarantee Scheme’s expanded eligibility criteria is helping more first-time buyers, as well as those who haven’t owned a home for many years.”
You can read more insights from the Great Southern Bank No Place Like Home research report here.
About Great Southern Bank
For over 75 years, we’ve been putting our customers first, and today we look after the banking needs of more than 400,000 Australians. We have changed our name from CUA to Great Southern Bank but we remain customer-owned and are firmly focused on our purpose of helping all Australians to own their own home.